


Happy Thoughts

by GodOfToast



Category: Naruto
Genre: Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I'll add more tags later, LGBTQ Characters, OC heavy, Self-Insert, Yumi is the best fucking mom, lots of family stuff and shit, mentions of dark themes, mostly fluffy, non binary character, working through your issues by being reborn but you don't know you're reborn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-06-19 06:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15504849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodOfToast/pseuds/GodOfToast
Summary: Ryuu doesn't really like conflict. They don't like hurting people, and not to mention there's another entity living in their head that seems to have a lot of baggage but doesn't want to share. Not that that'd stop them from being an amazing ninja.Rewrite of Yotsuba no Kuroba





	1. Chapter 1

“Ryuunosuke,” Yumi kneeled down and pulled her child into her arms. “It’s just school, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Ryuunosuke in turn buried their face in Yumi’s sweater. They knew that already, they knew that everything should be fine, and there was nothing to be afraid of. They knew that they’d have no trouble making friends and could keep up with the schoolwork, but it didn’t matter. Their head was swimming and their stomach was sick with a sense of dread not their own. They could feel the Other, squirming and writhing in their mind, trying to pull itself tighter into the ball trying to cut itself off from Ryuu like it always did when it was stressed by something, but while it kept its memories locked up tight, it could never separate it’s emotions from Ryuu’s.

“Everyone’s gonna be older than me.” They muttered, voice muffled by their mother’s thick sweater. It helped. It was something they were nervous about, but there was no real way of knowing what was stressing the Other, kind of a pain considering it was almost always stressed. Yumi stroked their hair, and Ryuu leaned into her hand. It helped, Yumi was warm and affectionate, and the Other quieted. Yumi was something safe, and even when she didn’t understand Ryuu she still accepted them, and both parts of their mind revelled in the affection.

“Sweet pea, look at me.” When they refused to lift their head from her, she placed her hand under their chin and lifted it. “Look at me. Everything will be fine, you’ll do fine. You’ll make some good friends, and you’re smart. And even if this turns out to not be the right path for you, I’ll support you no matter what, alright?” She placed a kiss on Ryuu’s forehead and rose to her feet. “Will it help if I hold your hand on the way to the classroom?” they considered it for a few long seconds before giving a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Yumi smiled, running her hand over Ryuu’s hair once more before taking their small hand in her’s. “It’s going to be alright.”

Yumi was a lovely woman, with long coral colored hair past her waist. She had eyes that always looked like they were laughing and saying “I know something you don’t.” and when she smiled her lips pulled a bit more to one side that on her face always looked rather charming. At six, Ryuu looked like a miniature of their mother, the only noticeable difference being in coloring. Their hair was darker and redder, and they were quite a bit paler than her with eyes the color of brass. Ryuu always thought their features suited their mother better. The Other always felt weird when they looked in the mirror, something just felt wrong to it but it wouldn’t say what.

“You’ll be fine.” She reassured them one more time as they reached the classroom door. “And, there’s a surprise for dinner tonight to celebrate!”

“Ramen.”

Yumi laughed. “Yes okay it’s ramen, but you like ramen! And you’ll be able to see Ayame, won’t that be fun?” She cupped their cheeks and planted a kiss on their forehead. “I’m so proud of you baby, whatever you decide to do.”

Ryuu gave their mother one last quick hug and ran into the classroom. The minute they stepped in they strongly considered running back out. Everyone was a lot taller, a few people were staring at Ryuu, and their incessant chattering was hurting their ears, though the Other seemed much more bothered by it. They hurried to the nearest empty seat as quickly and quietly as they replayed Yumi’s words in their head, more to calm the Other’s growing panic.

As far as Ryuunosuke knew, the Other had always been there. It was normal, just another part of their mind in some ways. In other ways it felt like a very jumpy companion sitting in their brain, it had memories that weren’t Ryuu’s, knew songs that didn’t exist, and sometimes, if it bothered to let Ryuu see, things that hadn’t happened yet.

The moment they sat down they felt someone poke the back of their head, and they jumped nearly out of their chair with a small squeak.

“Hey, you’re the new kid right?” Grinning behind them was a nice looking, if rather forgettable, boy with messy hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail. “I’m Ahiru.”

Ryuu smushed down their rising panic and summoned their nicest smile. “I’m-” Their breath caught in their throat. “I’m Ryuunosuke Uzumaki, it’s nice to meet you.” Ahiru was kinda unremarkable in terms of appearance. Not really the typical brown haired brown eyed Konoha type, but without any bright stand out features either. His hair was brownish orange, and his eyes were grey blue. Overall nice, but would get lost in a crowd. The only striking thing about him was how sincerely warm and good natured that it actually settled Ryuu’s nerves quite a bit.

“Come on, I don’t bite!” He playfully punched Ryuu’s shoulder. “But Tsukimi will, try not to get in a tussle with her outside of taijutsu, she’s half shark or something.”

“Umm?” Ryuu gave a forced laugh, unsure whether the older boy was joking or not

Ahiru laughed. “Oh, she’s the rich white haired girl, can’t miss her. She probably won’t actually bite you, she’s only bitten Okami once, but that’s cause their spars get really intense. Anyways, I’m kinda friends with everyone so if you need any help just ask.” He smiled at Ryuu again, like they were a person he’d known for years instead of someone he’d spoken to for at most a minute. “For the low low price of calling me senpai of course.” He clamped down on his smile and tried to look serious, even though Ryuu could see the corners of his mouth twitching.

Ryuu snorted. “No.”  
“Booooo, why not?” He stuck out his tongue.

“We’re in the same class, I don’t actually have to call you senpai.”

“But I’ve been in school longer!” He argued.

“That says more about you than your experience.” This earned a snort from Ryuu’s seatmate, a very tall boy with brown hair in a neat ponytail.

“But I already know everyone and how good they are!” An idea flashed through Ahiru’s mind and he grinned wide. “If you call me senpai you can eat with me at lunch until you settle in, and I can introduce you to everyone!”

“Don’t listen to him Ryuunosuke.” Ryuu’s neighbor interjected. “He’s just trying to get you to be friends with him cause he doesn’t have a friend group.”

“Shut up Yari, I don’t have a friend group because I’m friends with everyone.” He blew a raspberry at Yari. “It would be a crime to confine my greatness to a few people.”

“A blessing more like it.” Yari shot back, a playful smirk growing on his face. “And no way in hell you’re my friend, don’t lie to the newbie.”

“Pffft, I wouldn’t even want to be your friend, you’re boring. Anyways Ryuu, what’cha say?” He leaned over the table and grabbed Ryuu’s face with his hands, squishing it. “Wanna be my sidekick?”

That’s when the door slammed shut, and a tired looking chunin walked through the door with the attendance book. “Everyone be quiet, and wait for me to call your name. And please… please just don’t do anything today.” He said and took a gulp from what Ryuu assumed was either coffee or very strong tea. Ryuu had met with him while enrolling, he was a nice, if exacerbated man named Hoshi.

Ryuu tried to pay attention, they really did, but within thirty minutes their leg was bouncing and they were looking all around the classroom for anything to get their attention. There honestly wasn’t much, not even any windows to look out of. Ahiru was asleep at the table behind them, Yari was diligently taking notes, and Hoshi had been asked more than five questions along the lines of; “Was Madara’s mom proud of him?” “Was he a butt because his mom never loved him?” “Was his mom from space and that’s why she never loved him?” “Was Madara an alien?” and “Are you sure the Bijuu aren’t from space?” Despite the fact this was chakra theory.

Ryuu’s thoughts drifted to Ahiru. They liked him, he smiled a lot and laughed a lot and something about him made the Other feel more comfortable, like there was something familiar about him.  
‘It’s a ploy.’ The Other warned them. ‘He’s trying to make you say senpai so he can call you cute and tiny and squishy.’ Ryuu decided to ignore it, instead trying to figure out what they could about their classmates from the backs of their heads. Most everyone had the brown or black hair typical to Konoha, though there were a few exceptions. They were drawn to one person’s hair in particular, long and white, and so shiny each strand might as well have been made of ice. ‘That must be Tsukimi.’ They noted, and began doodling in their notebook, half listening to the lecture.

“And I want you all to practice keeping the leaf stuck!” Hoshi yelled out to the class in vain as they poured out the doors to eat lunch. Ryuu grabbed their bento and ran over to find Ahiru.

“Hey senpai.”

The reaction was just as the Other had predicted, Ahiru grinned and pulled Ryuu into a crushing hug, lifting the younger child off his feet and squishing their face into his chest. “Awwww, you’re so cute!” He squealed as he spun around. Maybe it was just the fact their air supply was cut off, but they could feel something fluttering in their chest. If Ahiru liked cute things they were going to milk it for all it was worth. “So tiny and squishy.” He said, and lifted Ryuu in the air. “Hey, hey Tsukimi?” He shoved Ryuu in the white haired girl’s face as she passed bye. “Isn’t he just the cutest?”

Ryuu’s head spun and they kicked their feet as they realized how high off the ground they were. “Please put me down.”

“Nope! Tsukimi look!” He said, stepping closer as Tsukimi tried to back away with Ryuunosuke raised in front of him like a kitten. Ryuu’s heart jumped with every step, but Ahiru’s grip never loosened and he seemed to have no trouble with Ryuu’s weight. It didn’t stop Ryuu from freaking out though. Tsukimi covered her mouth with the large sleeve of her kimono and smirked.

“Whatever you say Ahiru.” She rolled her eyes.

“Great!” Ahiru ran away, Ryuu still held out in front of him, and he continued this with a few other people until he got bored and remembered they had to eat.

 

“So,” Yumi asked as she wiped ramen broth off of Naruto’s face. “How did school go?”

Ryuu swished one of the eggs in their tonkotsu ramen around in the bowl before deciding on a response.“It was kinda fun but also really boring.” With that they stuffed the entirety of an egg into their mouth. Teuchi laughed and they immediately realized their mistake.

“Any new friends?” He asked, but Ryuu could not respond.

“Not again.. Ryuu.” Yumi sighed, prying her attention away from Naruto to scold Ryuu, albeit rather halfheartedly. But when her back was turned was when Naruto struck, in his delight laughing at Ryuu’s unintentional impression of a squirrel, he brought his little fists down on the edge of the bowl and sent the thankfully cooled ramen broth inside catapulting all over the toddler. Naruto was silent for a moment before bursting out into another fit of giggles, waving his little hands up and down.

“Ryuu-nii! Ryuu-nii! Look!” He continued to laugh, pushing the bowl up over his eyes. “Kage!”

With some difficulty Ryuu swallowed the half chewed egg and smiled at Naruto. “Yeah, you do look like the Hokage!” They laughed. Yumi hid her face in her hands and Teuchi just gave her a knowing smile.

“Ryuu?” Teuchi said. “You didn’t answer my question. Did you make any new friends?”

“Sorry! And yeah! Well like, one. And he’s really weird, and has a weird name. But he’s also kinda funny so it’s okay. But everyone’s bigger than me and it’s weird like a bad weird.” They huffed at the last part and stabbed another egg with a chopstick. Yumi was too busy trying to mitigate Naruto’s ramen situation to scold them for it. Teuchi dropped another egg into their ramen.

“You’ll catch up to them soon enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I really wish you were in my class.” Ryuu told Itachi that sunday, as they sat by the pond eating dango. ‘It’s really scary being alone.’ They imagined saying, but for some reason they couldn’t bring themself to vocalize the thought, and instead popped another dango in their mouth and sat in the silence. The day was perfect, the air and wind still held the chill of winter, but the sun was hot, and everything smelled of melting snow and dry grass and sunlight. A bit humid, but humidity and Konoha went hand in hand. Warm enough that Ryuu didn’t need their shoes as long as they had a sweater on.

 

Itachi mulled this over as he finished chewing his dango. “Father hasn’t told me when I’ll be starting the Academy.”

 

“Oh..” They hoped they didn’t come off as too disappointed, they hadn’t exactly had their hopes up with how strict Fugaku could be, but they were.

 

“He wants to make sure I’m ready.” His response made their heart sink. They wanted him to join them at school as soon as possible, and they realized they’d missed him, going to school alone. They didn’t have any friends in their class, they wanted Itachi.

 

 _‘Do I count as intrusive thoughts?’_ The other mused. _‘I mean, I am thoughts Ryuu has no control of but..’_ The Other’s musings drifted in and out of Ryuu’s mind.

 

“Do you think you’re ready?” They asked, leaning against Itachi, and handed him what was left of their stick of dango. He was warm, and they hugged him tight, pinning his arms to his sides. Itachi didn’t hug them back, but Ryuu didn’t mind. “How about when I make friends I can tell you all about them, and then when you do come to school I’ll introduce you, and it’ll be great!” They didn’t really know what they were saying, they knew that they probably would be friends with someone, but they really didn’t want to make new friends. Ahiru was nice at least… safe.

 

“Hmm.” Itachi looked at the pond, and Ryuu smiled brightly at him.

 

“Umm… hey!” They let go of him and jumped to their feet. “You promised to help me with shuriken right? I’m not very good at it yet.” They grabbed onto his arm, shaking it a few times. “Come on, up you go! I’m bored and you promised me!”

 

In an instant Itachi was on his feet and poked Ryuu’s forehead. “Let’s go.”

 

They smiled and took off running. “Race you!” They didn’t bother to check to see if Itachi was following them, he was faster anyway, the fresh grass was cold on their bare feet, but soft and springy, and the wind as they ran bit at their nose. The sharp scent of frost was on it’s way out, and they laughed, the feeling bubbling up from their stomach. For a moment everything went away as the air stung their face, and their blood rushed through them.

 

Itachi beat them to the training ground, but he was winded so they counted that as a victory. They flopped down on the ground, breathing heavily and still giggling. It felt so good to be moving, they felt like they’d been stuck sitting still in a boring classroom for months rather than a few days.

 

“Ryuu.” Itachi poked them with his toe. “Can we-”

 

“Ooof. Fiiine.” They cut him off. They knew pretty much what he was going to say anyway. “I know, let’s get started.”

 

They stood in front of the target logs, took their stance, and threw. The shuriken landed, not perfectly, somewhat to the upper right. “Oh wow I didn’t expect that.” They said. They got back into position, and threw again. This one landed in the ground, a few feet to the side. “Okay, see!” They turned to Itachi. “I missed! Like, sometimes I hit, but usually I miss.”

“Oh..” Itachi smiled. “You let go too late, try letting go of the shuriken sooner, and you won’t throw it to the side as much.

 

“Oh! That’s what’s wrong! Okay, I’ll practice that later.”

 

 _‘Make sure you actually do it.’_ The other chimed in, and while it’s tone was teasing, Ryuu could feel the guilt weighing it like a rock in their stomach. They scowled.

 

“Shut up.” They scowled until they realized Itachi was giving them a weird look. “Ahhh.. not you, the other.”

 

_‘Stop telling him about meee!’_

 

‘You don’t mind me telling Mom.’

 

_‘I can actually trust Yumi!’_

 

‘Itachi’s my friend, stop being mean!’ That shut it up, and it went sculking back to its dark little sectioned off place in Ryuu’s mind.

 

“Umm… why don’t we play a game instead?” They suggested.

 

“Hn..” that usually meant he didn’t want to, but didn’t specifically want to say so. That was fine, Ryuu hadn’t really wanted to either.

 

* * *

 

Yumi sank into the couch cushions with a sigh. It was quiet now, with the kids at Mikoto’s, and for the first time in weeks she could close her eyes and relax a little. But she couldn’t, her mind was full of too many thoughts and worries. Work, Ryuu’s school, his imaginary friend… he had drawn it for her, a couple times now. When he’d drawn the whole family in crayon, there was a messy black blob scribbled next to him.

 

“That’s the Other! It lives in my brain.” Ryuu’d said when she’d asked about it.

 

‘It has to be an imaginary friend, that’s normal for kids.’ Yumi tried to convince herself. ‘Ryuu like spooky things, so of course they would make up a spooky friend.’ But something in her gut was telling her that wasn’t it. Ryuu wasn’t lonely or anything, he had Itachi and Ayame. And he was going to school now, so if there were any time for him to forget about it… Something wasn’t right here. ‘Am I worrying too much?’ she thought. ‘He’s not scared or bothered by it, should I even be worrying about this?’

 

“Hey mama!” Speak of the devil. Ryuu was running through the door, shortly followed by Mikoto holding a sleeping Naruto

Yumi reached out and caught him in her arms. “Hey baby. Did you have fun with Itachi?” She said before she placed a kiss on Ryuu’s forehead. The cold spring air radiated around him, and he was kind of dusty.. She made a mental note he needed to shower tonight.

 

“Mhm! He helped me throw a shuriken, and we chased frogs and..” Yumi doubted that. More like Ryuu caught frogs and showed them to Itachi. Or tried to. It was a bit early for most frogs to be awake and out of hibernation. “Also, Itachi’s hair is longer than mine now!” They pouted, and Yumi laughed.

 

“Probably not, yours just looks shorter because of the curls.” He really did look like her.. If Ryuu was happy and safe, there was nothing to worry about. Whatever his friend was, it wasn’t hurting him, so everything had to be okay.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS FIC ISNT DEAD!!!!! Im alive, I've just been busy and kinda nervous about writing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm actually a couple chapters ahead so I may update more regularly now. Let me know what you think!

As spring drew closer to summer, thawing the earth and coaxing flowers from it, Ryuu could feel something itching under their skin. They could feel it, the emergence of new life and the waking of the old, and it made them restless. The Other’s walls melted like the ice in Spring, and as hard as it tried, it could not stop memories from leaking out. Running around barefoot on the grass and laughing, until it’s lungs hurt from the lingering sting in the air, but the sun was too hot to feel it. Looking under rocks and digging in the dirt for bugs and worms. Picking flowers to preserve in the pages of a book. The memories were disjointed and separate from each other, some feeling decades apart. When they manifested Ryuu would get distracted, losing their place in reality for a split second, but it never felt wrong. It was like the world gained a sense of depth to it, every memory that washed over them bringing more vibrance to color and sound.

 

Ryuu spent a little less time with Itachi as the memories grew more vibrant. They found patches of forest with a creek running through it where they could spend their weekends. They saved up their allowance and bought a journal.

 

‘These are yours.’ They told the Other. And while they were in those woods, they told the Other to do as it pleased. Whenever they could get away, they let the Other go past the wall it had built around itself. It didn’t feel like Ryuu had given control to another person, if they wanted to move contrary to what the Other wanted to they could, but rather like something.. They didn’t know how to describe it. Like finally putting the last piece of a puzzle down, or getting so lost in a book that it felt real, or that moment when you realize how to do a math problem that you didn’t understand, but now it clicked. It felt right.

 

They read books leaning against the trunks of trees, splashed in the creek and looked for frogs and crayfish. They amassed a large collection of pressed wildflowers they weren’t entirely sure what to do with, and when they were absolutely sure that no one was around, they sang. The Other knew a lot of songs Ryuu had never heard of, and singing made their heart fill up with an emotion they couldn’t quite describe. 

 

It was a bit tough to conspire against something that lived in their own brain, but Ryuu’s efforts seemed to be helping the Other let down it’s guard. It felt important, like they were doing something that had to be done.

 

_ ‘You should be taking notes.’ _ The Other prompted. ‘ _ Even if you can remember now, it’ll be useful later.’ _ Ryuu ignored this, and continued to doodle.  _ ‘Ryuuuu. If you’re not going to take notes, at least ask to copy someone else’s.’ _ It had a point, but Ryuu really didn’t want to ask for help. It was uncomfortable, and they hadn’t talked to anyone in class other than Ahiru, and Yari occasionally. Ahiru didn’t take notes, and Yari’s handwriting was chicken scratch, so that left asking someone they didn’t know. Which meant that the person they asked might not even take good notes. Which meant they would have bad notes to work with which was arguably worse than relying on memory, or have to hurt the person’s feelings by saying they’ll ask someone else. The thought seemed to make the Other equally nervous, and it quieted down for the rest of the day, leaving Ryuu to enjoy the relative silence in their mind for most of the afternoon.

 

Except, it wasn’t silent at all, because they had a song stuck in their head, and they couldn’t stop wondering what made jellyfish stingy, and how it was different from bee stings, and whether they’d more likely find the answer in a book about poisons or a book about jellyfish. Which reminded them that they really wanted to know more about spiders, because spiders were scary, but they didn’t  _ mean _ to be scary, so it wasn’t their fault and Ryuu didn’t want to be afraid of them because it wasn’t fair. But stuff about venom and webs was really interesting, so maybe they should look that up too. Maybe someone from the Aburame clan would know, but spiders weren’t actually insects. They looked around. Wasn’t there an Aburame in their class? Yep, there was. Maybe he knew… Ryuu didn’t particularly like Aburame, not because they were creepy, or because of the bugs, it was more that there was always a soft buzzing sound around them. It was faint, at the very edge of Ryuu’s hearing, and that was what made it frustrating. Also, bugs in general made really distracting noises. But there was a question probing their mind that they needed to know the answer too, it would only frustrate them if they didn’t. 

 

They watched him, biding their time until the end of class. Their curiosity burned hotter with each passing minute until finally..

 

“Class dismissed.” Hoshi-sensei declared as he slumped into his seat, planting his face firmly on the desk. It was their chance. 

 

They didn’t even bother to put away their belongings before they sprang into action, squeezing between the students until they got to where the Aburame was sitting, just standing up with his book bag in hand. Ryuu slammed their hands down on the desk, not quite as loud as they wanted because of the other student’s chatter and general noise, but enough to convey their passion. The Aburame didn’t look amused, but not mad either. He was hard to read, and for a second Ryuu got nervous and almost booked it, but their question was too important.

 

They looked him dead in the eye.. Or as close as they could approximate through his sunglasses. “Do spiders eat bees?!” It had dawned on them, and it was just weird. One would think a spider wouldn’t want to eat something that stings like that.

 

“Yes.”

 

Ryuu was left dumbfounded as their classmate left. They weren’t sure what to do with that information. They walked back to pack their things. It dawned on them as they were leaving how embarrassing that just was. Their classmates all probably thought they were weird now, and they wouldn’t make anymore friends, and Ahiru would act like their friend but tease them and actually not like them… their throat tightened. 

Their classmate was easy to find, walking home at a casual pace. Ryuu caught up quickly. “Hey, wait!”

 

The Aburame turned his head, and let Ryuu catch up. Once they reached him they took a moment to catch their breath.

 

“I’m Ryuunosuke Uzumaki.” They held out their hand. “Sorry I was weird.. I don’t know anyone yet so I hope we can get along.”

 

“Muta Aburame.” He took it. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

It was too hot. The air was thick and hard to breath, and they felt sticky and dizzy and their hair frizzed up. Ryuu hated it, the Other agreed. Summer fell quickly in Konoha, and held on stubbornly well into October. It wouldn’t be comfortable for another few months, so they had to resign themself to being sweaty and gross for until then. For the millionth time, Ryuu considered cutting their hair. Hanging in a heavy braid, it was too long to get off their neck, getting it to stay in a bun or high ponytail was a lost cause. As they lay in the grass, drinking in the breeze, they decided once again, to leave it be. Pain as it was, they liked their hair.

 

Ahiru and Muta didn’t get it, but recently they made a friend because of it. A girl in their class named Rengyo had asked to play with it during lunch. It was nice, and by the time class started again she’d braided so many flowers into their red mane it looked like they were growing out of them. Rengyo was a chubby civilian born girl with short brown hair, large dark eyes, and two adorable butterfly hair clips she was never seen without. She wasn’t particularly pretty, or particularly plain. She was sweet looking, a light soft kind of sweetness like bread. Better still, she was a diligent student, and had offered to lend Ryuu her notes. Rengyo was sweet.

 

It was through talking to Rengyo that they really heard about kunoichi classes.

 

“But why?” It was positively bamboozling to Ryuu.

 

“I don’t know.” She said with her cheeks stuffed with melon bread. “It’s a grown up thing, girls take kunoichi classes and boys don’t.” Ryuu snatched one of her cookies and took an angry bite. “Does it matter?”

 

“I don’t know, I like flowers and pretty things, it’s not fair!” Okay so  _ maybe _ they were just mad that the girls were learning something Ryuu wasn’t and they were jealous, but that's besides the point. The point was that what Rengyo had talked about was really interesting to them. Even more so, it was really interesting to the Other. They could feel it was listening whenever Rengyo brought up flower arranging, amongst the rambly writing and drawings in the journal Ryuu bought for it, the Other had collected a sizable amount of pressed flowers, and liked to know the meanings of each one.

 

“Well, there’s probably no rule against it, and you kinda look like a girl anyways.” She teased. “Maybe if you come to class with me they won’t mind!”

 

“Yeah! Okay!” A wide grin spread across their face. 

 

The plan went off without a hitch, though the teacher had pulled them aside to explain she couldn’t actually give them a grade even if they attended the classes. Ryuu was still pretty excited though. Ahiru didn’t get it.   
  


“It just seems really boring, like what do you even do?”

 

“Well, they just finished plant identification and flower arranging but Rengyo is letting me read her notes and I found some books at the library to help me catch up.” They sighed. “I’m really behind, everyone else has been in this class for like, three years already.” Ahiru ruffled their hair, and Ryuu playfully batted his hand away with a pout.

 

“That’s what you get for skipping grades!”

 

_ ‘Theres no way in hell I’d go through another six years of school.’  _ The Other commented. Ryuu pushed its bitterness aside and tried to pay attention to Ahiru. “It’s not my fault I tested well.”

 

‘ _ Yeah that’s on me _ . _ Sorry little dude _ .’ Ryuu hadn’t really studied for the placement exam, but for some reason a lot of the stuff came naturally to them. They knew how to do most of the math, and the reading was easy, and the Academy decided they’d fare better with a more advanced curriculum, even if they had to catch up with taijutsu and shuriken.

 

“Besides!” They put on their sweetest smile. “If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be friends, and I like you!” 

 

Ahiru blushed and a smile spread across his face. “You’re too adorable!” But Ryuu’s mind was on other things. It was strange, school had barely begun and yet summer break was close at hand. Summer, then fall, and another year will have gone by. It made sense, the two most unbearably hot weeks of the summer would be free.

 

That night Ryuu asked their mother for a story after she’d put Naruto to bed. Yumi held them in her arms on the couch and told them of Uzushio and how she came to Konoha.

 

“I wasn’t that much older than you are when we left.” She started. “It was summer, but summers there weren’t like summers here. The breeze off the water was cool, and seals kept air moving so it was always nice.” There was always a sort of wonder in her voice when she talked about Uzushio and seals. She had tried to teach Ryuunosuke some, when they were younger. The way the brush moved in her hand was smooth and strong, leaves floating down a stream. She explained how they worked, the components and what every single stroke did, but as hard as she tried Ryuu had not understood. They wanted to learn sealing, but it was complex, and they found they could not focus on all the small parts. Rather, they just got overwhelmed and gave up. 

 

“We were civilians, and when Uzushiogakure fell we had no way to protect ourselves. So we went to Konoha. I was the only one who made it.” Yumi pressed a kiss to Ryuunosuke’s forehead. “I’m tired dear. We’ll finish the story another night.”

They wouldn’t be able to sleep. They knew that, they were never able to sleep. When they did, it was fitful or filled with bad dreams that left them confused and afraid to go back to bed. Besides that, their mind was buzzing. They had a lot of books out from the library and they were part way through one, towards the beginning, and all night they’d been itching to get back to it. It was folklore, a collection of ghost stories and myths that captivated them to no end, even if they would end scared and jumping at shadows later. So, they waited for Yumi to go to bed and got back to reading.

 

‘ _ Weird. Some of these stories are exactly the same, but some have been rewritten to make more sense with the world.’  _ The Other said, practically glowing with interest.

 

_ “What do you mean?”  _

  
_ ‘Well, the kuchisake-onna is a more modern tale I think, more of an urban legend. Jorogumo is old though. But these two are told the exact same way I heard them.’  _ It lifted a finger to point to the page. ‘ _ But stories of teke teke and Yuki-onna are pretty different. The teke teke was sliced in half by a train, but here it has her being mutilated by a rogue nin. Also that story was just stolen from a Junji Ito manga.’  _ Memories leaked in with the words, context of the stories and a few more spooky tales for flavor.

_'Thats weird.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah, I kinda really like horror. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


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